Health pro: Heart doctor brings electrical engineering background

Dr. Ken W. Lee is the Medical Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at Health First. He specializes in the diagnosis, management, and ablation of arrhythmias, especially atrial fibrillation.(Photo: Provided by Keith Betterley)

Dr. Ken W. Lee is the Medical Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at Health First. He specializes in the diagnosis, management, and ablation of arrhythmias, especially atrial fibrillation.

Q: Why did you go into this career?

A: My interest in this specialty is derived from an “electrical” background, based on my undergraduate and graduate studies. It is hard to imagine a field more challenging and more rewarding to work in than cardiac electrophysiology.

A: I offer treatment of bradyarrhythmias with pacing devices, helping prevent sudden death through the implantation of defibrillators, and catheter-based ablation to cure various arrhythmias. I also work with patients with a history of fainting to determine what’s causing them to lose consciousness.

Q: What makes this area of medicine fulfilling for you?

A: I cannot imagine anything more fulfilling than working in a field where you can see the direct benefit of what you do for patients and their families.

Q: When did you realize this was the right medical career path for you?

A: I realized I wanted to specialize in cardiac electrophysiologic medicine in college. I spent the summer after my senior year in college working in a cardiac electrophysiology research laboratory at a local hospital. The immediate intellectual gratification of this field is what drew me to pursue this as a career.

Education: Undergraduate and graduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology; medical school at Cornell University Medical College; residency at University of Minnesota Medical Center; fellowship at University of California, San Francisco.

Professional background: I have practice experience in cardiac electrophysiology.